Alistair Mooney – Future Archaeology

Juddy Roller Exhibition

Future Archaeology by Alistair Mooney.

Future Archaeology is the result of a thought experiment comprising,
hypothetical apocalyptic event in which modern knowledge is lost and distant
future archaeologists are charged with the task of deciphering and
reconstructing pre-apocalyptic lifeways.

Taking the form of an anthropological museum exhibit, Future Archaeology
replaces the pottery vessels, everyday items and worship imagery of an
ancient civilisationʼs dig site with the equivalent objects and imagery of our
contemporary epoch. This collection of cultural signifiers excavated not from
the ground but from the psyche and experience of the artist, have been
translated into artefacts which denote daily life and wider societal values,
forming a portrait of the times we exist in.

Carved out of Huon Pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii), the rare species of conifer endemic to the
wet temperate rainforests of southwestern Tasmania. With specimens
recorded to live to over 2,500 years old, this slow-growing tree is among the
oldest living organisms on the planet. Using this timber to shape the artefacts
of Future Arch*eology, Mooney transforms the presumed meanings of the
imagery creating contrasting connotations of beauty and waste, mortality and
immortality, and how what you leave behind will define your life.